Push it, push it good….

As I was walking out the door this morning my wife noticed I did not have my gym bag and asked, “Do you need me to get your bag?” I replied, “Since we have your meeting tonight, I don’t think I will have time and besides, I am tired.” That is an understatement, I am exhausted. I really pushed my limits yesterday at the gym. When I got home last night, I literally hurt all over. Funny thing is, no weights were lifted yesterday.

It was a cardio only day so, I got on the treadmill, set the workout to random, set the time for 45 minutes and hit go. The random setting allows the treadmill to increase or decrease incline during the time frame of your workout. You also have levels of difficulty, 1-20. I have been doing a 6-8 level since I started back but I was feeling spry so I thought to myself, “Let’s push it today big boy, Level 12.” Now on level 12, you are always at some incline, the lowest being 1.5 and the more incline you have, the more calories you burn. I started off fine, set my speed to 3 MPH and the first 5 minutes weren’t bad at all. I increased my speed up to 3.5 and saw a big incline was upcoming. The incline was set a 4 when BOOM 10!!! My legs began to burn then, let me tell you! 52 minutes later I was pouring sweat and felt like Rocky Balboa must have felt after his famous run in Philadelphia. I usually burn anywhere between 300-400 Calories on my cardio day workout however, I did a little more than that this time:

After I got home and we had a healthy dinner, I sat down and that’s when it hit me. I felt as if I had been in a fight with Rocky. My whole body ached all over. I am sure part of it was from the hard chest and back work out from the day before but, mostly due to that cardio workout today. I looked like Fred Sanford walking around my house and I slept soundly all night long. Still sore this morning, I made the decision as I showered that I need a break today. My body was demanding it. It then dawned on me on the drive to work this morning, I had been to the gym for 5 days straight. I had been going 3-4 times a week since January but never more that 2 days in a row. I had just gotten into the routine of going that it has now become a habit. No wonder my body was screaming at me, it had not worked out like this since 2015. I had pushed myself to the limit and now it is time to rest for a day.

You need to push yourself daily to the upper side of your limits. It is the only way you will get stronger and see the results you are wanting. Your body will adapt to the exercise you are doing after a while so, you must change it up every so often. This is what is known as Muscle Confusion. Doing the same exercise routine over and over will soon cause you to hit a plateau. You body just becomes accustomed to what you are doing and sets itself accordingly. Unless you change it up from time to time bu doing a different type of exercise routine or increasing your level of difficulty, you will hit that plateau and usually that is when people get frustrated and give up. They feel like they are not longer benefiting from this exercise and not seeing the results they want, they just stop. Exercise is one area of your life where you want to achieve failure. What I mean is, you want your muscles, to absolutely give out during an exercise routine. You get to a point where you just cannot lift, push or pull any longer and have to stop. This is where muscle growth occurs. You tear it down and as it rebuilds itself, it become bigger and stronger. You can do this whether you are trying to bulk up or lean out. Remember, if you are looking to bulk up, lower reps with heavier weights, if you are looking to go lean, higher reps with lower weights. No matter which you are trying to accomplish, your last two reps should be causing a burning sensation in the muscle group you are working. You should find it difficult to finish those last two reps. Listen

Push yourself daily to be the best person you can be, whether it is in the gym, your work, being a parent or spouse. We must push ourselves past our comfort zones if we are to grow. Don’t be afraid to lift a heavier weight or increase level of difficulty in cardio. Don’t be afraid to step out of your norm if you want to achieve greatness in all that you do. F.E.A.R has two meaning; Forget Everything And Run or Face Everything And Rise. The choice is yours. And when it is time to rest, rest. Take a break then get back to pushing yourself to be the best.

Go be the best you, you can be today!

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One thought on “Push it, push it good….”

I can almost feel your pain from my computer, haha! It’s definitely worth it to get that rest in, especially after challenging yourself. And I love your motivational talk at the end; it surely is important that we believe in ourselves and our own abilities.